Paul Belserene

Strategic Storyteller & Storytelling Trainer

A poet, creative writing teacher, meditation instructor, marketing strategist, branding consultant, storyteller and one-time chemistry major, Paul commits every aspect of his life to helping others find words for unspoken ideas, and connecting what can be felt to what can be done.

A graduate with honors from the University of Chicago, Paul moved to Canada in the 1970s where he built a log cabin on the British Columbia coast, worked in the halibut fishery, and wrote. Paul’s work first received international exposure in the mid 80s when he was instrumental in the early storytelling (and four pavilion experiences) that seared Vancouver’s Expo 86 into the world’s imagination. In 1987, when Intrawest first acquired Blackcomb Mountain, Paul began a 20-year relationship with that company, leveraging the power of storytelling to help transform it from a general purpose property developer to one of the world’s leading experience-oriented resort brands. Paul also created the “hard lemonade” category for Mike’s Hard Lemonade, which became the most successful beverage brand in Canada on behalf of the Marc Anthony Group.

Paul has taught creative writing through the University of British Columbia for four decades, and he has been teaching mindfulness awareness meditation with the Shambhala tradition since 2002. And his storytelling has helped give fire and power to tourism, resort and community development, injury prevention, seniors’ communities, healthcare organizations, the arts, and enterprise. In the end, Paul is in love with the way words are able to change people, and how people are able to change the world.